Dinesh Karthik feels the 23-year-old Ishan Kishan will thrive under competition due to his wide-ranging abilities. In the 2nd ODI, KL Rahul replaced Ishan Kishan as India tried a fresh opening combination, with Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma given opening duties and KL Rahul bracketed at the No. 4 position.
India have plenty of openers at their disposal and Rishabh Pant’s promotion up top could make things difficult for Ishan Kishan, but Dinesh Karthik disagrees.
In an unexpected move, Rishabh Pant walked in to open the Indian innings with Rohit Sharma in the second game of the three-match ODI series against the West Indies. The team management made one change to the line-up as KL Rahul, who missed the previous game due to a personal engagement, came into the side in place of Ishan Kishan. But the change wasn’t just limited to starting eleven.
Dinesh Karthik: Ishan Kishan Has Got Tremendous Skills As He Can Attack From 1st Ball Which Is A Skill That Every Player Doesn’t Possess
Ishan Kishan cannot be labelled as a one-trick pony, given the fact that he’s got the ability to bat anywhere in the order and keep wickets as well. He’s a gun fielder who also has expertise behind the stumps. The left-handed player scored a 36-ball 28 in the previous ODI versus West Indies and forged an 84-run opening stand with Rohit Sharma.
“Ishan by now would know that among all the available spots, the one that has the most competition is the opening. There are way too many openers and just two spots. He’s going to be aware of that… but the good thing for Ishan is that he’s not just a keeper.
“He’s a good fielder as well. You double up as an option on the field. They are going to look at him as a pure opener like they did in the first game against West Indies,” said Dinesh Karthik in the pre-match show.
“He’s got tremendous skills… he can attack from ball one. That’s a skill every player doesn’t possess. In the new age, players try and attack a lot from ball one. Teams that have succeeded in doing that consistently have done very well in multi-nation tournaments. So Ishan definitely has a good chance to come into the scheme of things,” Dinesh Karthik further said.
Dinesh Karthik last played for India in the 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal. The 23-year-old Ishan Kishan has played 3 ODIs, from which he has scored 88 runs at a strike rate of 107.31 with 59 as his career-best score. The southpaw has also featured in five T20Is from which he has scored 113 runs with 56 as his highest score.
Ishan Kishan Was The Top Run Getter For Mumbai Indians In IPL 2020
Ishan Kishan is also expected to fetch a huge sum in the upcoming IPL 2022 mega auction. He’s listed his base price as ₹2 crore and will possibly end up among the most expensive buys of the event. With 1452 IPL runs in 61 games, Ishan Kishan has got a decent amount of experience under his belt and his previous franchise Mumbai Indians can also buy him back.
He was the top run-getter for Mumbai Indians in the 2020 season, scoring 516 runs at an average of 57.33, which also helped him earn a national call-up. Back in 2018, Mumbai Indians had snapped him up for a staggering INR 6.20 crore in the auction.
With Rs 48 crores in their purse, Mumbai Indians would love to bring back Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan, Trent Boult and Rahul Chahar back in the fold in IPL 2022 mega auctions. Mumbai Indians retained Rohit Sharma (16 crore), Jasprit Bumrah (12 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (8 crore), and Kieron Pollard (6 crore).